


Nice

by what_a_dork_fish



Series: Cheriks [20]
Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-11 01:44:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15962039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/what_a_dork_fish/pseuds/what_a_dork_fish
Summary: fluffy tidbit





	Nice

It’d been a few years since that mugger had shot Charles in the back, and a stranger on the street had caught the mugger, broken his leg in three places, and called an ambulance, holding Charles’ hand as he sobbed in pain and terror.

Three years, two months, three weeks, and one day, actually.

Charles knew it was silly to keep track like that, but he couldn’t help it. He was always amazed that Erik had even stepped in at all, much less stuck around to make sure he was healing properly. And then a year later Erik had asked Charles on a date and—

Well.

Charles smiled as he finished grading another quiz. Tonight Erik had gone out with his friends to a bar, and while Charles did miss snuggling up to him and watching a bad movie, he didn’t begrudge Erik having fun with friends. It had been a hard month on both of them. Once upon a time Charles would’ve gone out too; but ever since finding out that his favorite bar was not wheelchair accessible, and that none of his own friends would even consider meeting him at the only accessible pub in the area, he’d decided quiet nights in with some champagne and a movie weren’t that bad.

In the beginning it had been a time to cry and feel sorry for himself; when Erik entered the picture, it became a time to reflect, tear up, then move on. And now Charles rarely felt sorry for himself, and when he cried it was tears of laughter.

He never got tired of murmuring thank yous, and apparently Erik never got tired of softly replying “You’re welcome, liebling.”

The thought warmed Charles, and he smiled wider. He wouldn’t need alcohol tonight. He’d just put on Pride And Prejudice and see how far he could get before Erik came home.

~

Charles woke with a start when he heard sniffling.

Oh no.

Charles sat up immediately, alarmed. The last time Erik had come home crying, it had been because one of his ex-friends had called Erik a very cruel name and punched him, which had of course made him furious and punch back, and then after the fight Erik’s other ex-friends blamed Erik for “over-reacting”. He was not as immovable and indestructible as he liked to pretend. By the time he got home and Charles had plied him with tea and kisses and cuddles, he’d been sobbing.

But Erik was not in the hall, trying to sneak past the living room (Charles had fallen asleep on the sofa). He was standing in the doorway, staring at Charles, with the most bewildered and pained look on his face, as he bit his lip and fought not to cry too loudly.

“Darling—“ Charles began, holding out his hand, but Erik interrupted by bursting into noisy tears.

Erik wasn’t a good crier. He had never learned how to cry quietly, and he had never allowed himself to cry enough to find his own rhythm for it, so each sob was rough and loud and unsteady. It was absolutely painful to witness. Charles held out both arms and Erik stumbled over to sink to his knees beside the sofa and hug Charles tightly.

Charles wrapped his arms around Erik and kissed the top of his head, rubbing his back gently. Eventually, Erik found words: and they were very startling.

“Why?” he sobbed, “Why are you so nice to me?!”

Charles blinked, but did not stop rubbing Erik’s back. “Because I love you,” he replied.

“No! No one loves me!”

Charles frowned. This was dangerous territory. “Darling, of course people love you. You’re wonderful and—“ He stopped because Erik was shaking his head, hard, rubbing his forehead against Charles’ chest.

“No I’m not. I’m not! I’m mean and terrible and why are you so nice to me?!” His arms were very tight around Charles and he obviously was not going to let go for a while yet. So Charles sighed and cupped his hand around the back of Erik’s neck.

“Darling. Listen. You may be mean and terrible to some people, but you’ve never been mean to me. That’s only part of why I love you, though. I love you because you watch my bad movies with me. I love you because you hear me out when I have a new idea. I love you because you always give my ideas consideration instead of dismissing them immediately. I love you because you know my favorite foods and you cook them and you don’t mind the messes I make trying to cook for you. I love you because of that time you drew on me with sharpies but all you wrote was “I love you”.” Charles had to stop and take a breath; waking up to see sweet words scrawled all over him in sharpie had made him cry because no one had ever loved him enough to mark him in ways that could be seen.

Erik’s sobs were winding down, but he still hadn’t let go. That was alright.

“I love you because you are wonderful,” Charles murmured, “And loving someone means being nice to them.”

Erik sniffled. “I love you too,” he mumbled.

Charles smiled. “Thank you, my darling.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comments = Life, Love, and Happiness


End file.
